Search age:

Search in:

Nadal to stick with uncle as coach

Darren Walton

World No.1 Rafael Nadal says he has no plans to follow the lead of his peers and appoint a tennis great as his coach.

Two years after Andy Murray hired Ivan Lendl, three-time defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has brought Boris Becker to Melbourne Park, while Roger Federer has called on Stefan Edberg.

Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is working with Marin Cilic and two-time French Open winner Sergi Bruguera is coaching Richard Gasquet.

Nadal, though, is sticking with his trusty Uncle Toni - despite joking on Tuesday night that he was "thinking with McEnroe".

Advertisement

"No, seriously for me, I believe in the continuation of the things," he said said after advancing to the second round of the Open after Bernard Tomic retired from their first-round match with a leg injury.

"So my team is the same since I start. I never fired out no-one in my career of my team. That is something that I am proud of.

"I always believe that you are playing well, if you are playing not that well, it is always your fault, not the fault of the coach.

"My feeling is when I was winning is because I am doing the right things, I am playing with the right attitude, and I know my team is the right way.

"And when I am losing, I feel the same way. It's because I am doing something wrong, because my team is the right one."

Uncle Toni has guided the 27-year-old to 13 grand slam titles and Nadal hopes he will be in his courtside box for the rest of his career.

"Nobody knows better me than what my team knows me," the Spaniard said.

"All my team knows me since long time ago, so I feel very confident with them ... I really would love to finish my career with the team I have today.

"I will fight for that."

Nadal, though, said he was delighted to see old champions rejoin the tour.

"It is great, by the way, to have all these great coaches, great players in the tour," he said.

"Brings lot of charisma to the tour. Makes the tour more important.

"I am very happy to see these big champions on the tour, see them in the locker room, people that you see on the television when I was a kid is great."